DISTRESSING images show injured babies and children crowded in hospital wards as Israel blitzes Hamas territory with revenge strikes.
Thousands in Gaza spent the night in darkness after a near-total power outage, surrounded by the ruins of neighborhoods.
APInjure Palestinian children sit side by side on a bed as they wait to be treated by a medic[/caption]
APTwo young girls share a bed as they wait to be seen[/caption]
AFPA woman comforts injured Palestinian girls waiting at the hospital to be checked[/caption]
A young girl cries in agony as she lies on the hospital floor covered in bloodAP
APBabies being carried for treatment at the facility[/caption]
GettyAn aerial view of destroyed buildings following the Israeli airstrikes in Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City[/caption]
Israel halted all deliveries of food, water, fuel and medicine to the tiny enclave after Hamas terrorists stormed across the border on Saturday.
On Wednesday, Gaza’s only power station ran out of fuel and shut down – leaving only lights powered by scattered private generators.
A senior official with the International Committee of the Red Cross has now warned that the lack of electricity could cripple hospitals.
Fabrizio Carboni, ICRCs regional director, said: “As Gaza loses power, hospitals lose power, putting newborns in incubators and elderly patients on oxygen at risk.
“Kidney dialysis stops, and X-rays can’t be taken. Without electricity, hospitals risk turning into morgues.”
Harrowing photos show bloodied babies and toddlers filling Shifa Hospital as doctors struggle to keep up with demand.
Youngsters soaked in blood can be seen with bandages as they sit side by side on crammed hospital beds.
One girl can be seen lying on the floor screaming in agony, covered in blood.
Other images show adults desperately trying to console children, bloodied and with their clothes torn, in floods of tears.
Meanwhile, doctors carried babies to safety after they were caught up in the horrors of war.
But Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said nothing would be allowed into Gaza until the captives were released.
He tweeted: “Not a single electricity switch will be flipped on, not a single faucet will be turned on, and not a single fuel truck will enter until the Israeli hostages are returned home.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to crush Hamas terrorists after Hamas gunmen stormed over the border on Saturday – shooting down men, women and children in their homes.
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After smashing through the border, 1,500 Hamas terrorists rampaged for hours and massacred at least 260 revellers at the peace festival.
They dragged an estimated 150 soldiers and civilians – including men, women, children and the elderly – into captivity in Gaza.
In one town, soldiers discovered scenes of indescribable horror.
Israeli forces took back control of the besieged town of Kfar Aza on Tuesday and were forced to recover the bodies of at least 40 babies and kids – with some found beheaded, Israel claimed.
Hamas militants armed with guns, grenades and knives killed entire families in their beds early on Saturday morning after storming over the border.
Israel has retaliated with a barrage of revenge strikes, razing towns in Gaza to the ground.
International aid groups warned that the death toll in Gaza could mount after Israel stopped all deliveries of food and water to the territory.
More than 1,300 people have been killed in Israel so far, while the death toll in Gaza also stands at 1,300.
Palestinians fleeing airstrikes could be seen running through the streets, carrying their belongings and looking for a safe place.
Tens of thousands have crowded into UN-run schools while others are staying with relatives or even strangers who let them in.
Lines formed outside bakeries and grocery stores during the few hours they dared open, as people tried to stock on food before shelves were emptied.
It comes as Israel readies 360,000 troops to invade Gaza.
Netanyahu said on Thursday: “Hamas has shown itself to be an enemy of civilisation.
“The massacring of young people at an outdoor music festival, the butchering of entire families, the murder of parents in front of their children… the beheadings, the kidnappings.
“Hamas is ISIS and just as ISIS was crushed, so too will Hamas be crushed.
“Hamas should be treated exactly the way ISIS was treated.”
APDoctors are rushing to treat young patients before power runs out[/caption]
AFPA distressed boy is treated at a hospital in the city of Rafah[/caption]
APHospitals in Gaza are struggling to keep up with demand[/caption]
APA wounded girl cries outside a hospital in Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip[/caption]
GettyAn explosion on a residential tower caused by Israeli raids in the northern Gaza Strip[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
